September 9th will see Cacophonous resurrect two monumental releases from its dingy, abyssal vaults; Dimmu Borgir’s Stormblåst and Bal-Sagoth’s Battle Magic.

Initially released in CD and digital formats, LP versions will come soon. With remastered audio courtesy of Danny B of HVR Studios, new life has been breathed into the reissues, which are a must have for extreme metal fans.

The third and final release under the Cacophonous mark from extreme metallers Bal-Sagoth came in the form of 1998s Battle Magic - a brilliantly ambitious 10-track epic. The band allocated a full month for studio time, with the keyboards alone taking six days to record.

2016’s Battle Magic reissue features new artwork from Martin Hanford and expanded lyrics in the album sleeve.

“We recorded our third album Battle Magic during the late autumn and early winter of 1997, once again at Academy Music Studio in Yorkshire, England. We had just returned from a successful European tour with Emperor and were ready to conclude our First Trilogy in style. This album was so artistically elaborate that it pushed the analogue facilities at Academy to their absolute limit, and by his own admission almost gave engineer Mags a nervous breakdown! If nothing else, this album proved that we were a band not afraid to take risks... a band who prized art and originality above all else. Now, almost twenty years after it was originally recorded, this glorious third chapter in our epic hexalogy has once again been unleashed upon the world as a special remastered edition to commemorate two tumultuous decades of Bal-Sagoth’s immortal crusade. So, steel yourselves as you venture once more into the darkling pulp fantasy world of Bal-Sagoth, and experience anew the sublimely baroque bombast of Battle Magic!” - Byron Roberts (Bal-Sagoth vocalist/lyricist)

Battle Magic tracklisting:

“Battle Magic”
“Naked Steel”
“Tale From Deep Woods”
“Return To The Praesdium Of Woods”
“Crystal Shards”
“The Dark Liege Of Chaos Is Unleashed At The Ensorcelled Shrine Of A'zura-Kai (The Splendour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire Part II) When Rides The Scion Of Storms”
“Blood Slakes The Sand At Circus Maximus”
“Thwarted By The Dark (Blade Of The Vampire Hunter)”
“Atlantis Falls”

Stormblåst is the 1996 second studio album from Norwegian Black metal masters Dimmu Borgir. This was the last album with lyrics in their native Norwegian, and the first where keyboards were heavily used and introduced as part of their trademark sound. 2016’s reissue contains additional new photos of the band alongside extended lyrics.

“Stormblåst is heralded as one of the classics of Norwegian black metal. As we only had the DAT recording of the album we were limited in what we could do to enhance the original recording, but I think it's improved enough that fans will welcome the remastered version. I'd been told about Dimmu Borgir by Samoth in mid '94 when Emperor visited the label offices. Aldrahn of Dødheimsgard put me in touch with them, as he'd just recorded vocals for a song on their debut album For All Tid. I asked Dimmu Borgir if they wanted to work with Cacophonous on their follow-up album they should contact me in the future. I didn't hear from them for a while, until after the recording of Stormblåst, they wrote and said that the label who were going to release the second album couldn't pay for the studio costs and as they only had a verbal agreement, if we paid for the recordings the band would let us release the one album. It seemed a good idea, if only for a single release, and so we secured the rights and put out the record.” - Neil Harding, Cacophonous Label Founder

Stormblåst tracklisting:

“Alt lys er svunnet hen”
“Broderskapets ring”
“Vinder fra en ensom grav”
“Da den kristne satte livet til”
“Antikrist”
“Stormblåst”
“Når sjelen hentes til helvete”
“Dødsferd”
“Guds fortapelse - åpenbaring av dommedag”

Both reissues will be available to pre-order in August. Stay tuned for more info.